Kimberly Denise Jones, was born on July 11, 1974, to parents Linwood Jones and Ruby Mae.
A native of Brooklyn, New York, Kimberly was born into a broken home, by age 9 her parents had filed for divorce, leaving her and older brother Christopher under the custody of their father. A rebellious child living under the strict rules of her dad, Kimberly and her father had many fights, and finally she ran away from home. As a teenager she lived with friends, drug-dealing boyfriends, and, occasionally, on the streets. After meeting her mentor and life saver Christopher Wallace, (Notorious B.I.G/Biggie Smalls), she began to clean up her life and it was Christopher who helped her develop a career in music. By then Kimberly had taken in the slogan "Lil' Kim" after her height and curbing her name to just Kim. With the help of Christopher she became the only female member of the short lived rap group Junior M.A.F.I.A.
But while Lil Kim's career was blossoming, her life was shattered along with the music world when her father like figure Notorious B.I.G. was murdered on March 9, 1997. Following that incident, Lil' Kim began recording her own music, while keeping busy with a string of other projects. She was one of the featured performers of highly successful Sean Diddy Combs1998 "Bad Boy Tour", and built her own business with the launch of Queen Bee Records, with Lil' Kim herself as CEO. Kim's marketing campaign for her album was quite provocative -- she was dressed in a skimpy bikini and furs in the advertisements, as well as the album covers -- but the album became a hit, debuting at number 11 on the pop charts. The first single from the album, "No Time," a duet with Sean "Puffy" Combs, became a number one rap single. The long-awaited Notorious K.I.M. followed in 2000, and then came La Bella Mafia in 2003.
Two years later Kim was in court defending herself against a perjury charge. She was eventually convicted of lying to a federal grand jury about her knowledge of a 2001 shooting outside of New York's influential radio station Hot 97 FM. Kim had claimed she wasn't aware that appeared while its "Lighters Up" single was dominating urban radio. Documenting the rapper's preparations for incarcerationher manager and a friend were present, but surveillance cameras proved the two were there. In September of that year, the new album The Naked Truth, the BET reality show Lil' Kim: Countdown to Lockdown first aired in March 2006 and became the most watched series debut in the network's history.
Although Lil Kim is not perfect, nor a great image for children, i feel she deserves recognition for amounting to success, inspite her circumstances as a child. Even though Kim recieved a helping hand from Christopher Wallace, She struggled to make it on her own, long before he came along. Whether it was in the work place, or in the streets, Kim manged to get by. Thus inspiring other young females to go for their dream to be whatever they like no matter what obstacles life brings. TRIVIA
A native of Brooklyn, New York, Kimberly was born into a broken home, by age 9 her parents had filed for divorce, leaving her and older brother Christopher under the custody of their father. A rebellious child living under the strict rules of her dad, Kimberly and her father had many fights, and finally she ran away from home. As a teenager she lived with friends, drug-dealing boyfriends, and, occasionally, on the streets. After meeting her mentor and life saver Christopher Wallace, (Notorious B.I.G/Biggie Smalls), she began to clean up her life and it was Christopher who helped her develop a career in music. By then Kimberly had taken in the slogan "Lil' Kim" after her height and curbing her name to just Kim. With the help of Christopher she became the only female member of the short lived rap group Junior M.A.F.I.A.
But while Lil Kim's career was blossoming, her life was shattered along with the music world when her father like figure Notorious B.I.G. was murdered on March 9, 1997. Following that incident, Lil' Kim began recording her own music, while keeping busy with a string of other projects. She was one of the featured performers of highly successful Sean Diddy Combs1998 "Bad Boy Tour", and built her own business with the launch of Queen Bee Records, with Lil' Kim herself as CEO. Kim's marketing campaign for her album was quite provocative -- she was dressed in a skimpy bikini and furs in the advertisements, as well as the album covers -- but the album became a hit, debuting at number 11 on the pop charts. The first single from the album, "No Time," a duet with Sean "Puffy" Combs, became a number one rap single. The long-awaited Notorious K.I.M. followed in 2000, and then came La Bella Mafia in 2003.
Two years later Kim was in court defending herself against a perjury charge. She was eventually convicted of lying to a federal grand jury about her knowledge of a 2001 shooting outside of New York's influential radio station Hot 97 FM. Kim had claimed she wasn't aware that appeared while its "Lighters Up" single was dominating urban radio. Documenting the rapper's preparations for incarcerationher manager and a friend were present, but surveillance cameras proved the two were there. In September of that year, the new album The Naked Truth, the BET reality show Lil' Kim: Countdown to Lockdown first aired in March 2006 and became the most watched series debut in the network's history.
Although Lil Kim is not perfect, nor a great image for children, i feel she deserves recognition for amounting to success, inspite her circumstances as a child. Even though Kim recieved a helping hand from Christopher Wallace, She struggled to make it on her own, long before he came along. Whether it was in the work place, or in the streets, Kim manged to get by. Thus inspiring other young females to go for their dream to be whatever they like no matter what obstacles life brings.
TRIVIA
Works Cited Page
"Lil Kim Photos" 20 Feb 2009 http://www.starpulse.com/Music/Lil_Kim/
"Biography Of Kimberly Jones" 22 Feb 2009 http://www.starpulse.com/music/Lil%27_Kim/P198619/0/0/2/0/
"Lil Kim goes hardcore singing with interscope" Article 22 feb 2009http://www.rapsearch.com/news/article/lil-kim-goes-hardcore-signing-with-interscope
"Junior Mafia Artist Biography" 23 Feb 2009 http://music.aol.com/artist/junior-mafia/biography/1138199
"Lil Kim credits" 20 Feb 2009 http://www.movietome.com/people/39366/lil-kim/credits.html